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| cities in paraná | |
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| cities in paraná | |
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Curitiba is the capital City of the Brazil ian state of Paraná . In 2005 it had a population of approximately 1,757,904 people. Its metropolitan area comprises 26 Municipalities with a total population of 3.2 million (2005 census) {Link without Title} . The city is on a Plateau 3,120 feet above Sea Level . It is 65 miles west of the Sea Port of Paranaguá , at 25.42° South, 49.29° West. People from Curitiba (''curitibanos'') are particularly known by other brazilians for their regional Accent . HISTORY The name "Curitiba" comes from the Tupi words Coré Etuba, "much pine," due to the large number of Brazilian Pines (''Araucaria angustifolia''), in the region prior to its foundation. The Portuguese who founded a village in 1693 gave it the name of "Vila da Nossa Senhora da Luz dos Pinhais" (Our Lady of the Light in the Pine Forest). The name was changed to "Curitiba" in 1721 . Curitiba officially became a town in 1842 . Growth was based on the Cattle trade, being half way between cattle breeding country to the South and markets to the North. Waves of European Immigrants started arriving after 1850, mainly Germans , Italians and Poles . Traders established bases The Universidade Federal Do Paraná (Federal University of Paraná), the first in Brazil, was established in Curitiba in 1913, the same year in which electric Streetcars were first deployed. PLANNING Curitiba is held as a paragon of Urban Planning excellence. The city has a notably efficient transportation system, including devotion of lanes on major streets for a Bus Rapid Transit system. The buses are long, split into three sections (bi-articulated), and stop at designated elevated tubes, complete with handicapped access. The system, used by 85% of Curitiba's population, is the source of inspiration for the TransMilenio in Bogotá , Colombia , as well as the Orange Line of Los Angeles, California . The city is also remarkably successful in preserving and caring for its green areas, boasting 54 m&2 of green space per inhabitant. In the 1940s and 1950s , Alfred Agache , cofounder of the French Society For Urban Studies , was contracted to produce the first city plan. It emphasized a star of boulevards, with public amenities downtown, an industrial district and sanitation. It was followed when possible, but was too expensive to complete. By the 1960 s, Curitiba's population had ballooned to 430,000, and some residents feared that the growth in population threatened to drastically change the character of the city. In 1964 , Mayor Ivo Arzua solicited proposals for urban design. Architect Jaime Lerner , who later became mayor, led a team from the Universidade Federal Do Paraná that suggested strict controls on urban sprawl, a reduction in traffic in the downtown area, preservation of Curitiba's Historic Sector, and a convenient and affordable public transit system. This plan, known as the Curitiba Master Plan, was adopted in 1968. Lerner closed Rua XV De Novembro to vehicles, because it had very high pedestrian traffic. The plan had a new road design to minimize traffic: the Trinary Road System. This uses two one-way streets moving in opposite directions which surround a smaller, two-lane street where the express buses have their exclusive lane. Five of these roads form a star that converges on the city centre. Land farther from these roads is zoned for lower density developments, to reduce traffic away from the main roads. A number of areas subject to floods were condemned and became parks. Today, Curitiba is considered one of the best examples of urban planning world-wide. In June 1996 , the chairman of the Habitat II summit of mayors and urban planners in Istanbul praised Curitiba as "the most innovative city in the world." The secret of the planning may be how it is governed. New city projects have historically been chosen by Referenda in order to assure that they meet real needs. Voters are informed of relative costs, and then choose between projects. Costs in referenda are described in terms of "kilometers of city street." This is said to help voters put projects in perspective with ordinary civil engineering. In the 1980s , the RIT (Rede Integrada de Transporte, ''Integrated Transport Network'') was created, allowing transit to any point in the city by paying just one fare. At the same time, the city began a project called the "Faróis de Saber" (''Lighthouses of Knowledge''). These Lighthouses are free educational centers which include Libraries , Internet access, and other cultural resources. Job training, social welfare and educational programs are coordinated, and often supply labor to improve the city's amenities or services, as well as education and income. TRANSPORTATION Curitiba has a very simple and practical transportation system. Public transportation consists entirely of buses. There are several different types of bus, each with a different function. RIT-connected
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Curitiba has twelve passenger terminals where it is possible to change buses without having to pay for a new ticket. They are located on Express lanes and offer travellers great flexibilty. Moving around in a car can be difficult in and around the city centre because of the many one-way streets and the high volume of other traffic. This makes the public transportation system very attractive if one wants to go there. The trinary system allows quick access to the city centre for car drivers, however. Most avenues are spacious and laid out in a grid, and apart from some points around the city centre, traffic jams are not so severe as to unnerve the average driver. Recently, the city installed around 200 Traffic Radars , to help decrease the number of accidents. This technology uses sensors under the pavement which trigger a Digital Camera if the car is above speed limit. The picture, including the date and time it was taken, is sent to the driver's home, as a Speeding Ticket . The system can send these tickets to drivers anywhere in Brazil . The Speed Limit is usually 60 km/h on avenues, but can be 40 km/h in dangerous places or where many pedestrians cross the street. Afonso Pena International Airport is Curitiba's main airport. It is located in the nearby city of São José dos Pinhais and all commercial flights operate from this airport. It is integrated into Curitiba's transportation system, with rapid buses and executive buses connecting the airport to the city. Small aircraft may also use the Bacacheri airport, which today hosts a flight school and an airbase. WEATHER AND CLIMATE Located in Southern Brazil, Curitiba is a somewhat humid city in Subtropical zone. Its is located in a plateau (around 900 m) and the flat terrain with flooded areas contribute to its mild and damp winter, with average temperatures of 13°C (55°F) in the coldest month, falling slightly below 0°C (32°F), in coldest days. During summer, the average temperature is around 21°C (70°F), but gets above 32ºC (90ºF) on hot days. In fact, of Brazil's twenty-six state capitals, Curitiba is the coldest, due to altitude, despite being 600 km north of Porto Alegre , the southern state capital in Brazil, but located at sea level. Curitiba's inhabitants claim that its weather is unpredictable. Heat waves during winter and cold waves during summer are not uncommon, and even inside a single day there can be a lot of variation, what is typical in subtropical areas. A local saying says that "Curitiba is a city in which the four seasons are clearly defined, and it has all four every day". This characteristic is consequence of some factors:
COP8MOP3 Starting on 15 march, the COP8MOP3 UN convention on Biodiversity and Biosecurity will be held in Curitiba. The Convention on Biological Diversity – CBD is one of the major outcomes of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) (Rio 92), held in Rio de Janeiro, on June 1992 . It is one of the most important environmental conventions and functions as a legal/political umbrella for different conventions and more specific environmental agreements. CBD is the main legal and political milestone for biodiversity-related themes and issues. 168 countries signed the CBD and 188 countries have already ratified the Convention and have joined in. Near 5,000 people offered as volunteers to this event. FOOTBALL CLUBS The three main football clubs in the city are: Clube Atlético Paranaense (founded 1924, Brazilian Champion 2001), Coritiba Foot Ball Club (founded 1909, Brazilian Champion 1985), and Paraná Clube (founded 1989). The match rivalry between Atlético-PR and Coritiba is popularly known as Atletiba . SISTER CITIES The Sister Cities of Curitiba are: FAMOUS PLACES Curitiba is mostly known for some of its famous places:
EXTERNAL LINKS On Urban planning
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